FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 8, 2013
For More Information: Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II, President, 919-394-8137
Mrs. Amina J. Turner, Executive Director, 919-682-4700
For Media Assistance: Rob Stephens, Field Secretary, 336-577-9335
RALEIGH - The North Carolina NAACP and the Historic Thousands on Jones Street (HKonJ) coalition that mobilized over 17,000 people on a Saturday morning in February outside the NC General Assembly, are coming back on a weekday--tomorrow--to petition the government directly for redress of grievances.
"We hold our annual People's Assembly on Saturday--because ordinary people work for a living and can't come in from across our wide state to meet with their representatives on working days," said Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II, President of the NC NAACP and its more than 100 Adult, College and Youth units of the NAACP across the state. "We hold our People of ALL Colors Legislative Day on Tuesday, when our Representatives are in town."
The grassroots volunteer lobbyists will meet in the sanctuary of the historic First Baptist Church, 101 S. Wilmington Street (corner of Morgan and Wilmington Streets) in Raleigh, NC on Tuesday, April 9, 2013 at 9:00 am.
The People of All Colors Legislative Day has met for over 10 years, bringing grassroots leaders who are part of the broad people's coalition to the Legislature to remind the representatives of their constitutional duty to represent ALL North Carolinians, not just the privileged few.
A press and plenary session with noted activists and experts will begin shortly after 9:00 am, bringing everyone up to date on what seems to many observers as an all-out war on working families, the poor, minorities, the elderly and students by the extremist leaders in the General Assembly. The People of All Colors volunteer lobbyists will then walk the short distance to Jones Street, to petition their legislators to govern, as the NC Constitution requires, for the good of the whole.
"We are petitioning our government for redress of grievances," said Dr. Barber. "With people who are being directly penalized and punished by the extreme ideological agenda being promoted on Jones Street, we will peaceably, and with grace, demand they stop their attacks on the most vulnerable North Carolinians. We will ask them to stop playing cynical political games with our kids' schools and teachers; with our healthcare system; with our racially biased criminal justice system; and with our sacred voting rights. These ideologues will not continue their campaign against poor and working people, against people looking for work; against African-Americans, Latinos, women, students, seniors, Native Americans and other minorities without the whole world hearing about it. Our Agenda is for Every North Carolinian. Their Agenda is BAD FOR EVERYDAY PEOPLE, BAD FOR NORTH CAROLINA AND BAD FOR AMERICA."
"So we gather in Raleigh tomorrow to educate legislators on just who they are hurting, expose to the public what is going on and to empower and invigorate organizing across the state to fight back legally, constitutionally and morally. We are determined to challenge these efforts in the courts, in the suites, in the streets, in the pulpit and at the ballot box. Every participant tomorrow will hand-deliver flyers showing the policies and pictures of the people and citizens they are attacking and hurting."
Presenters will include:
Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II, President, NC NAACP
Bob Hall, Executive Director, Democracy NC
Rodney Ellis, President, North Carolina Association of Educators
Mark Dorosin, Senior Managing Attorney, UNC Center for Civil Rights
Susan Lupton, Center for Responsible Lending
MaryBe McMillan, AFL-CIO of NC
Darryl Hunt, The Darryl Hunt Project for Freedom & Justice
Dennis Gaddy, Executive Director, Community Success Initiative
Audrey Galloway, AARP of NC
José Torres-Don, NC Dream Team
Alexandra Sirota, Director, NC Budget & Tax Center
Isaiah Daniels, Shaw University Chapter of the NAACP
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Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the nation's oldest and largest civil rights organization. Its members throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities, conducting voter mobilization and monitoring equal opportunity in the public and private sectors.
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